Apr 9, 2013

Blau Jeans

Once an American student lands in Europe, he/she is surprised for the American cultural influence on the Old World: fast foods, music, clothes etc. Blau Jeans — an essential, well-constructed documentary — helps to introduce students to the cultural and symbolic heart of Europe: Berlin. Then the course starts.
For decades Germany has been one of America's strongest and most trusted European allies, both politically and culturally.

American popular culture (US second biggest export) cast a spell on
postwar Europe that has yet to be broken. Blau Jeans, a new
one-hour documentary by Meaghan Kimball (2009), sheds light on how that spell both
charms and afflicts the people in the capital city of Berlin, the symbol of
modern Germany and cultural center of the New Europe.

Like no other contemporary documentary, Blau
Jeans leads viewers on an exploration of the German-American
relationship. From the shiny new Starbucks to the communist grit of
Alexanderplatz, to the historic Staatsbibliothek, journalists, artists,
musicians, professors, and novelists readily dig into their favorite cultural
conflicts: Spider-Man versus Faust, Starbucks versus the cafes of Old Europe,
American hip-hop versus European electronica, or simply low culture versus high
culture.

The picture that emerges is a Germany deeply affectionate for
America's freedom, optimism, and confidence, combined with resentment toward
its arrogance, power, and superficiality.

Shot entirely in Berlin with a German
crew and presented in English with German subtitles, Blau Jeansprovides significant insights
into the German-American conflict, and America's tainted image abroad.